"Shock and awe may be the best way to describe what's happening to the vast majority in trucking with these proposed regulations," Spencer said. "Each year for the past 10, more and more truckers are squeezed out of the option to buy new equipment because of ever increasing prices due to government requirements that are long on promises but way short on performance."

On Tuesday, Obama announced he would use an executive order to raise federal standards for vehicles weighing at least 8,500 pounds by Match 2016. Obama is establishing three categories of vehicles including vocational vehicles; heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans; and combination tractors.

The vocational vehicle category would cover most medium-duty trucks, including delivery trucks and refuse trucks, as well as buses. Manufacturers of these vehicles would be required to reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by 10 percent by 2018, according to a White House report.

Manufacturers of heavy-duty pickups and vans powered by gasoline or diesel engines would be required to achieve a 15 percent reduction in fuel consumption and emissions by 2018.

Big rigs in the combination tractor category would be required to achieve a 20 percent reduction in fuel consumption and emissions by 2018.

A recent bill proposed by California State Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) lays out an even more aggressive plan for emissions reduction in the state and puts the transportation sector squarely in its crosshairs.

The price of regular gasoline continued to decline over the holidays and reached an average of $2.266 per gallon for the week ending Dec. 31, which was 5.5 cents lower that the prior week, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.